I have a strange affliction – the love of old stuff. Classic and vintage cars. Supersonic aircraft from the 1960s and fighter jets from the 1970s. High-end hi-fi systems from the 1970s and the ’80s. Old movies, old music, very old furniture and old mansions (especially abandoned ones, which haven’t been lived in for decades…). When I can get my hands on them, I enjoy reading issues of automotive and technology magazines from 40-50 years ago, and like looking at photographs of major cities that were taken 80-100 years ago. And so on.
In all of the above, what I love most, perhaps, is vintage technology. I find old computers – machines from the 1950s-1980s – utterly fascinating. Names like IBM, Burroughs, NCR, CDC, Honeywell, General Electric, DEC, Cray, Xerox PARC and RCA. Also, HP, Atari, Commodore, Sinclair, Radio Shack and Tandy. And not just the machines and the tech of that era, it’s what scientists and engineers were able to do with those machines and that tech is what never ceases to amaze me. Despite the tiny amounts of computing power and severely limited capabilities (compared to modern computers), the computers of that era still helped launch space missions and execute landings on the moon, in addition to handling more prosaic – but still very important – tasks of large-scale data processing, and control and automation of manufacturing processes in large factories. What’s also fascinating is looking at just how far we’ve come. Consider this: An IBM System/370 Model 145 mainframe computer from the year 1970, which was large enough to take up one entire room, ran at 2.5MHz, had 500KB of RAM and 233MB of hard disk space. Today, it’s commonplace for a fairly basic desktop personal computer to have a four- or six-core processor running at anywhere between 2.5GHz to 4.6GHz, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of hard disk space. The progress that’s been made is astonishing, almost unbelievable.
Personally, I’ve been using computers since the late-1980s and have, over the years, progressed from MS-DOS (running on an old IBM PC/XT) all the way up to Windows 11. Funnily enough, while my computers have gotten ever faster and more furious over the decades, I’ve been doing less with them with every passing decade. Back in the mid-1990s, I used a Pentium 100 with 32MB of RAM and 1GB of hard disk space to run applications like 3D StudioMAX, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw and AutoCAD. Today, I use my PC (Lenovo, quad-core Intel Core i3 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD) to run MS Word, send a few emails and run this website. That’s a bit like doing 140kph in an old Premier Padmini and then pottering along at 60kph in a new BMW. But, anyway, for those who might share my fascination with old stuff – old computers, old technologies – I’ve compiled a list of books that I think you’d find very interesting.
Core Memory: A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers, by John Alderman (author) and Mark Richards (photographer)
‘An unprecedented combination of computer history and striking images, Core Memory reveals modern technology’s evolution through the world’s most renowned computer collection, the Computer History Museum in the Silicon Valley. Vivid photos capture these historically important machines including the ENIAC and Apple I and II, while authoritative text profiles each, telling the stories of their innovations and peculiarities. Thirty-five machines are profiled in over 100 extraordinary color photographs, making Core Memory a surprising addition to the library of photography collectors and the ultimate geek-chic gift,’ says the publisher’s note. ‘The book is a guided tour through some of the most notable and curious devices in the history of computing. Featuring important and eccentric machines spanning more than five decades, this book brings the inspired design of pioneering computer scientists into sharp focus. Mark Richards’ lovingly detailed images reveal the sometimes-surprising marks of human effort (such as a console equipped with its own ashtray!) in a technology that is often thought of as clinical and futuristic, as well as presenting a capsule visual history of modern computing. Each entry also includes text by acclaimed writer John Alderman, detailing the characteristics of each machine and providing an overview of its historical importance and points of scientific interest,’ it adds.
‘Beginning with the computers that were built during WW-II, Core Memory traces the evolution of computers, progressing through the mainframes of the ’50s and ’60s, before finishing up with the kit computers of the ’70s and early ’80s. While each computer gets a little snippet of text, the book focuses on Mark Richards’ photographs. They’re beautifully constructed – well lit, intriguingly framed and bring out the strange, severe beauty of early computers. Some shots give you a sense of the size and presence of these room-filling mainframes (difficult to comprehend when you can carry a system ten times as powerful in your pocket); some focus on the complex panels of buttons that comprised the interface. Best of all though, are those that pick out the details, the strange phrases such as ‘interface message processor’, ‘sense amplifier module’ which were stencilled on the sides of the machines. You come away with a real sense of just how hard it was to create the computer, how massive a task it was to get a machine to compute 1s and 0s at speed, to invent CPUs, RAM, motherboards, storage… and equally, why exactly it proved such a compelling dream for those early engineers,’ says Bit-Tech.
Get your copy of Core Memory: A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers
Format: Hardcover (new) / Hardcover (used)
Number of pages: 160
Price: Rs 15,162 / Rs 4,218
Available on: Amazon
Also see: The Nostalgia Nerd’s Retro Tech: Computer, Consoles & Games: Computer, Consoles and Games, by Peter Leigh
Digital Retro: The Evolution and Design of the Personal Computer, by Gordon Laing
‘The late-70s to the early-90s was a completely unique period in the history of computing. Long before Microsoft and Intel ruled the PC world, a disparate variety of home computers, from an unlikely array of suppliers, were engaging in a battle that would shape the industry for years to come. Products from established electronics giants clashed with machines which often appeared to have been (or actually were) assembled in a backyard shed by an eccentric inventor. University professors were competing head-to-head with students in their parents’ garages. Compatibility? Forget it! Each of these computers was its own machine and had no intention of talking to any other machine. The same could be said of their owners, in fact, who passionately defended their machines with a belief that verged on the religious. This book tells the story behind 40 classic home computers of an infamous decade, from the dreams and inspiration, through passionate inventors and corporate power struggles, to their final inevitable demise. It takes a detailed look at every important computer from the start of the home computer revolution with the MITS Altair, to the NeXT Cube, perhaps the last serious challenger in the personal computer marketplace. In the thirteen years between the launch of those systems, there has never been a more frenetic period of technical advance, refinement and marketing, and this book covers all the important steps made on both sides of the Atlantic. Whether it’s the miniaturisation of the Sinclair machines, the gaming prowess of the Amiga, or the fermenting war between Apple Computer, Big Blue, and the cloners, we’ve got it covered. Digital Retro is an essential read for anyone who owned a home computer in the 1980s,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘I had better confess right now: when I was a kid, my most prized possession was not a football, a knife or an action figure, but my Sinclair ZX Spectrum home computer. These were the golden years of computing: a time before Microsoft and Intel dictated every aspect of IT, when a bloke and his mates could cobble something together in a shed and actually compete with the big guys. By the early ’90s, failure to comply with IBM’s PC standard would sadly render all but a handful extinct – however, for a brief and glorious decade, it felt like anything was possible,’ says Laing, a former editor of PC World magazine. ‘Speak to anyone who grew up in the ’70s and ’80s and you’ll often hear passionate recollections of their first computer. It seemed I wasn’t alone. But what happened to the guys who made these things? Come to think of it, just what inspires someone to pick up their soldering iron and take on established corporations in the first place? The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to discover and document the stories behind these much-loved machines,’ he adds.
Get your copy of Digital Retro: The Evolution and Design of the Personal Computer
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 192
Price: Rs 5,623
Available on: Amazon
Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet, by Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon
‘Twenty-five years ago, it didn’t exist. Today, millions of people worldwide are surfing the Web. Where Wizards Stay Up Late is the exciting story of the pioneers responsible for creating the most talked about, most influential, and most far-reaching communications breakthrough since the invention of the telephone. In the 1960s, when computers where regarded as mere giant calculators, JCR Licklider at MIT saw them as the ultimate communications devices. With Defense Department funds, he and a band of visionary computer whizzes began work on a nationwide, interlocking network of computers. Taking readers behind the scenes, the book captures the hard work, genius, and happy accidents of their daring, stunningly successful venture,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘The ARPANET project had embodied the most peaceful intentions – to link computers at scientific laboratories across the country so that researchers might share computer resources. That there even existed an agency within the Pentagon capable of supporting what some might consider esoteric academic research was a tribute to the wisdom of ARPA’s earliest founders. The agency had been formed by President Dwight Eisenhower in the period of national crisis following the Soviet launch of the first Sputnik satellite in October 1957. The research agency was to be a fast-response mechanism closely tied to the President and Secretary of Defense, to ensure that Americans would never again be taken by surprise on the technological frontier. President Eisenhower saw ARPA fitting nicely into his strategy to stem the intense rivalries among branches of the military over research and development programs,’ the authors say in the opening chapters of the book. The story of ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet we know and love today, is one that’s rich with intrigue, racy and brimming with its protagonist’ shenanigans. A well-researched, very well-written book that geeks will love.
Get your copy of Where Wizards Stay Up Late
Format: Paperback / Hardcover
Number of pages: 304 / 304
Price: Rs 1,219 / Rs 6,931
Available on: Amazon
Also see: Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age, by Michael A Hiltzik
CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy’s Underdog Computer, by Boisy G Pitre and Bill Loguidice
‘CoCo is the first book to document the complete history of the Tandy Color Computer (CoCo), a popular 8-bit PC series from the 1980s that competed against the era’s biggest names, including the Apple II, IBM PC, and Commodore 64. The book takes you inside the interesting stories and people behind this unique, underdog computer. Noted computer science and technology advocates, authors Pitre and Loguidice reveal the story of a pivotal period in the home computing revolution from the perspective of Tandy’s CoCo. As these computers were sold in Radio Shack stores throughout the United States and other countries, they provide a critical point of reference for key events in the unprecedented evolutionary period for the PC industry in the 1980s. The book also features first-hand accounts from the people who created and promoted the CoCo, from the original Tandy executives and engineers to today’s active product creators and information keepers,’ says the publisher’s note. ‘The CoCo impacted many lives, and this book leaves no stone unturned in recounting this fascinating slice of the PC revolution that is still in play today. From early telecommunications experiments to engineering and budgetary challenges, it covers all the aspects that made the CoCo a truly personal, useful computing experience in as small and inexpensive a package as possible,’ it adds.
‘CoCo starts at the very beginning, in Fort Worth, Texas, with the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company. From there the authors give the account of the release of the Tandy VIDEOTEX terminal, which brought helpful information to farmers’ televisions via modem. From VIDEOTEX evolved the Color Computer (CoCo), and Radio Shack’s home computing platform was born. On from the original Color Computer, we’re taken through the development of the CoCo 2 and the CoCo 3 and even the single existing prototype of the ill-fated CoCo 4,’ says ByteCellar. ‘When most people think of the Radio Shack TRS-80, they probably think of the TRS-80 Model I, III, and 4. But Radio Shack also sold another computer line, the TRS-80 Color Computer. CoCo explores the somewhat forgotten history of the Color Computer line. It tells the story of the Radio Shack Color Computer (fondly nicknamed the CoCo), starting with its development and introduction in 1980. It also contains additional information that helps to put the Color Computer within the broader context of computers at the time. The book doesn’t end when Radio Shack discontinued the Color Computer 3 in 1990; it continues with more stories about the companies and people who still supported CoCo after the official end,’ adds Matthew Reed at TRS-80.org.
Get your copy ofCoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy’s Underdog Computer
Format: Paperback / Hardcover / Kindle
Number of pages: 203 / 203 / 203
Price: Rs 4,544 / Rs 14,083 / Rs 3,531
Available on: Amazon
Essential Retro: The Vintage Technology Guide, by James B Grahame
‘Join James Grahame as he introduces you to some dazzling devices from years past. You’ll encounter hundreds of vintage and neo-retro cameras, audio components, televisions, computers, video games, vehicles, toys, electronic musical instruments and mechanical gadgets. This is a fantastic opportunity to revisit a bygone age of elegant mechanics and hand-drawn design. Many brilliant old machines are hidden away in attics and garages throughout the world – forgotten movie cameras lie on dusty shelves beside obsolete computers and clever mechanical toys, all crying out to be rediscovered and brought back to life. The wonderful contraptions on these pages will capture your imagination and encourage you to explore the world of classic technology,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘This book is about rediscovery. The goal is to introduce you to as many vintage (or classically styled) gadgets as I can sanely cram into a couple of hundred pages. Treat this as an opportunity to revive the styles and technology of bygone eras, and to discover an earlier age of elegant mechanics and hand-drawn design. It’s hard to tell which of today’s gizmos will become the design icons of our era, but it’s easy to pick out beautiful and definitive devices from the past. And best of all, yesterday’s technology often sells for an infinitesimal fraction of what it cost new. So, rather than spending $1,000 on a brand-new camcorder, risk $50 on a mint-condition Super 8 camera. Or invest in a vacuum tube amplifier instead of the latest digital surround-sound wonder box with its baffling remote control. Your digital watch has stopped running? Go mechanical and you’ll never worry about dead batteries again,’ the author says. ‘I’ve tried to list sources for the gear I mention, but many old items like the beautiful wooden Gfeller Trub telephone and Audio Technica’s brilliant Sound Burger portable record player are almost impossible to find at sane prices. The Internet is partially to blame, since interesting old devices often gain cult status on forums and blogs. And, once a gadget becomes widely known, it frequently becomes the focus of aggressive bidding on auction sites like eBay. The solution is to get your hands on machines that make you wonder why no one has discovered them yet. Rest assured that the masses will follow,’ he adds.
Get your copy of Essential Retro: The Vintage Technology Guide
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 232
Price: Rs 1,642
Available on: Amazon
The Supermen: The Story of Seymour Cray and the Technical Wizards Behind the Supercomputer, by Charles J. Murray
‘After a rare speech at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, in 1976, programmers in the audience had suddenly fallen silent when Seymour Cray offered to answer questions. He stood there for several minutes, waiting for their queries, but none came. When he left, the head of NCAR’s computing division chided the programmers. ‘Why didn’t someone raise a hand?’ After a tense moment, one programmer replied, ‘How do you talk to God?’ In 1951, a soft-spoken, skinny young man fresh from the University of Minnesota took a job in an old glider factory in St. Paul. Computer technology would never be the same, for the glider factory was the home of Engineering Research Associates and the recent college grad was Seymour R Cray. During his extraordinary career, Cray would be alternately hailed as the Albert Einstein, the Thomas Edison, and the Evel Knievel of supercomputing. At various times, he was all three – a master craftsman, inventor, and visionary whose disdain for the rigors of corporate life became legendary, and whose achievements remain unsurpassed,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘The Supermen is award-winning writer Charles J Murray’s exhilarating account of how the brilliant – some would say eccentric – Cray and his gifted colleagues blazed the trail that led to the Information Age. This is a thrilling, real-life scientific adventure, deftly capturing the daring, seat-of-the-pants spirit of the early days of computer development, as well as an audacious, modern-day David and Goliath battle, in which a group of maverick engineers beat out IBM to become the runaway industry leaders. Murray’s briskly paced narrative begins during the final months of the Second World War and charts the rise of technological research in response to the Cold War. When Cray came on board, things quickly changed. Drawing on in-depth interviews – including the last interview Cray completed before his untimely and tragic death – Murray provides rare insight into Cray’s often controversial approach to his work. Cray could spend exhausting hours in single-minded pursuit of a particular goal, and Murray takes us behind the scenes to witness late-night brainstorming sessions and miraculous eleventh-hour fixes. Cray’s casual, often hostile attitude toward management, although alienating to some, was more than a passionate need for independence; he simply thought differently than others. Seymour Cray saw farther and faster, and trusted his vision with an unassailable confidence. Yet he inspired great loyalty as well, making it possible for his own start-up company, Cray Research, to bring the 54,000-employee conglomerate of Control Data to its knees. Ultimately, The Supermen is a story of genius, and how a unique set of circumstances – a small-team approach, corporate detachment, and a government-backed marketplace – enabled that genius to flourish. In an atmosphere of unparalleled freedom and creativity, Seymour Cray’s vision and drive fueled a technological revolution from which America would emerge as the world’s leader in supercomputing,’ it adds.
Get your copy of The Supermen: The Story of Seymour Cray and the Technical Wizards Behind the Supercomputer
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 240
Price: Rs 2,144
Available on: Amazon
Breakout: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Defined a Generation, by Jamie Lendino
‘Atari 8-bit computers are the first machines that truly bridged the divide between video game players and home computer enthusiasts. The Atari 400 and 800 signaled the start of a new era in computing. Jamie Lendino’s Breakout is the first book to cover what made Atari’s groundbreaking computer line great: its excellent graphics and sound, flexible programming environment, and wide support from the burgeoning home computer community. For those of us coming of ‘gaming age’ in the ’80s, Atari games were simply amazing and [in this book] you’ll find out what made over 100 titles so much fun to play. Breakout also explores the Atari 8-bit platform as it stands today, with a robust enthusiast and modding community, the increasing value of Atari computers and peripherals, and how to get started with one now or get your old one working again,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘There’s no way around it: Atari’s 8-bit computer lineup was terrific for gaming. There were several thousand titles made for the platform, and of those, at least 300 to 400 were worth playing. Plus, plenty of titles appeared for other machines or in the arcade first. To narrow things down, I’ll focus on the biggest and best platform exclusives, where the Atari 8-bit version was first. Some games were just fantastic to play and a huge part of the experience of owning an Atari computer, even if there were ports available on other platforms. [However], some of Atari’s own early games were mediocre; they were exceedingly basic, rushed versions of Basketball, Hangman, and other games that populated early company catalogs and brochures. Most of Atari’s business, educational, and home management software didn’t do enough to demonstrate the wide capabilities of the platform, other than to scream ‘me too’ next to the Apple II in the early years of the 8-bit Atari. Worse, a few major titles never made it over to the Atari 8-bit platform at all. But there was so much gaming goodness to be had with an 400 or 800, it didn’t matter,’ says Lendino.
Get your copy ofBreakout: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Defined a Generation
Format: Paperback / Kindle
Number of pages: 292 / 293
Price: Rs 1,237 / Rs 449
Available on: Amazon
Also see: Adventure: The Atari 2600 at the Dawn of Console Gaming, by Jamie Lendino
Bright Boys: The Making of Information Technology, by Tom Green
‘Everything has a beginning. None was more profound – and quite as unexpected – than Information Technology. Here for the first time is the untold story of how our new age came to be and the ‘bright boys’ who made it happen. What began on the bare floor of an old laundry building eventually grew to rival in size the Manhattan Project. The unexpected consequence of that journey was huge; what we now know as Information Technology. For sixty years the bright boys have been totally anonymous while their achievements have become a way of life for all of us. Bright Boys brings them home. By 1950 they’d built the world’s first real-time computer. Three years later they one-upped themselves when they switched on the world’s first digital network. In 1953 their work was met with incredulity and completely overlooked. By 1968 their work was gospel. Today, it’s the way of the world,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘Bright Boys is a story about technology when technology was young: 1938-1958. Two decades that ushered in the new world of electronics. A remarkable 20 years when computers were giants, their makers young and unknown, and when there was less than a megabyte of random access memory on the entire planet. Microprocessors were science fiction, transistors were handmade and mistrusted and banks of hot, glowing electron tubes ruled the land. Networks were meant only for telephones and electric power grids, and the word ‘digital’ was new on the ear. Yet it came as no surprise to a band of bright boys that these two decades would change everything and that they would plan an enormous part in getting it all started,’ the author says. ‘Their first decade was filled with guesses, probings and dawnings. The second was a near-magical time of incredible emergences as, almost simultaneously, information theory came of age, digital computing first appeared, networking was born and the first glimmerings of information technology edged into existence. Astonishing was the convergence of information, digital computing and communications wrought by a bunch of cocky twentysomething engineers, who thought they could most anything they turned their hands to, and usually did,’ he adds.
get your copy of Bright Boys: The Making of Information Technology
Format: Paperback / Kindle
Number of pages: 320 / 320
Price: Rs 5,113 / Rs 4,857
Available on: Amazon
On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise & Fall of Commodore, by Brian Bagnall
‘Filled with first-hand accounts of ambition, greed, and inspired engineering, this history of the personal computer revolution takes readers inside the cutthroat world of Commodore. Before Apple, IBM, or Dell, Commodore was the first computer maker to market its machines to the public, selling an estimated 22 million Commodore 64s. These halcyon days were tumultuous, however, owing to the expectations and unsparing tactics of founder Jack Tramiel. Engineers and managers with the company between 1976 and 1994 share their experiences of the groundbreaking moments, soaring business highs, and stunning employee turnover that came along with being on top of the PC world in the early days,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘On The Edge is fodder for anyone interested in the buried history of the personal computer. Whether you owned a Commodore computer or want to hear a new angle on the early stages of computer development, you’ll find this book easy to pick up and almost impossible to put down. Bagnall has gone to a massive amount of effort in telling this tale, researching and interviewing the real personalities involved. It takes readers on an important and often emotional ride that will many times leave you shaking your head at how painfully it all went wrong. The hirings, firings, disagreements, discontent, resignations and celebrations that occurred during the company’s run are given more than their fair share of coverage. It doesn’t always show Commodore in the best light, which is what readers should demand from any history. It’s a sad truth, and the book describes this in an often-bitter fashion, that the early history of computers seems to focus on Apple, IBM and Microsoft while Commodore’s massive contributions to the industry are routinely ignored. The common misconception that Apple started the home computing industry is simply wrong. Commodore was the first to show a personal computer, the first to deliver low-cost computers to the masses, the first to sell a million computers, and the first to arrive with a true multimedia computer. Fortunately, this book sets a lot of the record straight,’ says Andrew Leigh, on Slashdot.
Get your copy of On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise & Fall of Commodore
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 548
Price: Rs 7,999
Available on: Amazon
Fire in the Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer, by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine
‘Traces the history of the personal computer industry, focusing on the individuals who developed new microcomputers and software, and created new computer companies. In the early 1970s, the personal computer was just a wild dream shared by a small group of computer enthusiasts in an area south of San Francisco now called Silicon Valley. Working after-hours in basements and warehouses, computer pioneers – Jobs and Wozniak of Apple Computer, Gates of Microsoft, Kildall of Digital Research, and many others – ignited a technological revolution of astounding magnitude. This is the story of those individuals and the industry they founded. It reveals the visions they shared, the sacrifices they made, and the rewards they reaped. A fascinating account of an idea that caught fire,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘Paul Freiberger, Michael Swaine and I arrived at about the same time, in late-1981, at a funky little publication called InfoWorld. The three of us couldn’t have arrived at a better time. The PC hobbyist era was ending but in its place was thriving an equally wild, absolutely out-of-control small businesses – populated by remarkable and quirky characters – on their way to becoming major corporations. InfoWorld became a perfect perch from which to watch history take place. It is the proximity of its authors to the enterprises that gave birth to the microcomputer industry that sets Fire in the Valley apart from the now dozens of other attempts to tell the story of the computing revolution. The book [which was first published in 1984, followed by an updated special edition in 1999] has stood the test of time well. It remains a great adventure that gives the reader a sense of being close to a historical movement that is still playing itself out,’ says John Markoff, who was then with The New York Times, in the foreword to the 1999 edition of the book.
Get your copy ofFire in the Valley
Format: Paperback / Hardcover
Number of pages: NA / 352
Price: Rs 2,942 / Rs 5,927
Available on: Amazon
Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition and Still Don’t Get a Date, by Robert X Cringely
‘Computer manufacturing is, after cars, energy production and illegal drugs, the largest industry in the world, and it’s one of the last great success stories in American business. Accidental Empires is the trenchant, vastly readable history of that industry, focusing as much on the astoundingly odd personalities at its core – Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mitch Kapoor, etc., and the hacker culture they spawned, as it does on the remarkable technology they created. Cringely reveals the manias and foibles of these men (they are always men) with deadpan hilarity and cogently demonstrates how their neuroses have shaped the computer business. But he gives us much more than high-tech voyeurism and insider gossip. From the birth of the transistor to the mid-life crisis of the computer industry, Cringely spins a sweeping, uniquely American saga of creativity and ego that is at once uproarious, shocking and inspiring,’ says the publisher’s note.
‘Personal computers came along in the late-1970s and by the mid-80s had invaded every office and infected many homes. PCs killed off the office typewriter, made most secretaries obsolete and made it possible for a 27-year-old MBA with a PC, a spreadsheet program and three pieces of questionable data to talk his bosses into looting the company pension plan and doing a leveraged buyout. Personal computers made it possible for businesses to move further and faster than they ever had before, creating untold wealth that we had to spend on something, so we all became shoppers. Along the way, PCs themselves turned into very big business. In 1990, $70 billion worth of personal computer hardware and software were sold worldwide. And I’m here to tell you three things. One, it all happened more or less by accident. Two, the people who made it happen were amateurs. And three, for the most part they still are,’ says the author in the book’s first chapter. Trust us, this one is a thoroughly entertaining ride.
Get your copy of Accidental Empires
Format: Paperback / Hardcover
Number of pages: 384 / 336
Price: Rs 1,124 / Rs 1,520
Available on: Amazon
-Sameer Kumar
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